Eleventh Hour
by Dance Elle Dance
Summary: After the Avengers take off on their separate paths, Maria is sent by Fury to keep an eye on Steve Rogers. Little does she know, things will become much more complicated than that. SteveMaria, post-movie
1. The Assignment

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own The Avengers._

_**Summary: After the Avengers take off on their separate paths, Maria is sent by Fury to keep an eye on Steve Rogers. Little does she know, things will become much more complicated than that. SteveMaria, post-movie**_

_First Avengers chapter fic! I just had to write this for these two because the idea wouldn't leave me alone. It's not gonna be that long, but hey, at least it's a start. I'm really excited to write this and I hope that y'all enjoy reading this. This should be a fun ride!_

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**Eleventh Hour  
****Chapter One: The Assignment**

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Agent Maria Hill allowed herself a brief moment to close her eyes. It was a foolish move on her part, but she loved the feel of flying across the freeway, without any boundaries, feeling as if she had no problems whatsoever. She still found the feel of a motorcycle odd, but she was used to it. Being with SHIELD, she had to be able to pilot anything - even something as mundane as a motor bike.

She was lucky that she was able to hide herself easily. The black, skintight suit that was her uniform didn't look out of place as her current attire, wouldn't look out of place in any biker bar in the country, as a matter of fact.

The choice of a motorcycle was a practical one, though she was sure it didn't seem that way to anyone else. Of course, those people didn't know of the ordeal she was now going to undertake. In fact, she wasn't sure if _she _wanted to know of the ordeal she was now going to undertake.

Fury had assigned her to tail Steve Rogers.

After the Chitauri attack, everything was in disarray. America was wary of the Avengers, no matter how much good they might have done. Some idolized them, others feared them. It was the ways of the world, of course.

Fury had notes on every one of the members of the Avengers Initiative. Thor had taken Loki back to Asgard with the aid of the Tesseract. Stark and Banner had ridden off into the sunset in one of Tony's expensive cars. Fury had reported that Banner was now staying at Stark's current residence. Romanoff and Barton left together, which was to be expected.

And that left Rogers.

Last time Fury checked, he had gone off on his motorcycle, riding _alone_ to some destination unknown. And the _alone_ factor of that whole equation apparently ruffled his feathers.

And, when ruffled, Fury often turned to Maria to fix the problem. The problem usually being the broken coffee pot or the fact that he misplaced his eye patch. The problem never actually involved following someone around without their knowledge, and that was exactly what she was assigned to do.

No matter what frilly words her boss used to describe her supposed "mission", her assignment was to stalk Steve Rogers.

Because, "Dammit, Maria, he's from the 40s! He has no idea what's going on in this day and age and could very well get himself killed."

"But," she had protested, "he's _Captain America_, for Christ sakes!"

Her protests had gone unheeded. Once Fury's mind was made up, nothing changed it. He had made a very convincing argument, though, citing that there were weapons that could take any person out, no matter how enhanced their abilities were. And Steve was just the kind of guy that would interrupt any crime spree he could just to save the innocent, no matter how outnumbered he was.

Maria _really _needed an Aspirin.

She had been on this bike for what seemed like hours, and still no rest. She wondered how Steve managed this so long. Then she remembered what was running through his veins, what had caused him to become…well, _Captain America_.

Maria wished they had saved some of that stuff for her, at this point.

She had had a few close calls. It was usually when Steve stopped to eat and she would have to stop as well, and then she would have to subsequently dodge him and try to use the bathroom without running into him. She would have to eat without running into him. She wondered if he ever planned on stopping somewhere for good, but no dice. He usually checked into seedy motels. And, of course, she would have to sleep in those same hotels. Or close to them. He was a slippery one, and she was glad that she had the gumption to at least put that tracking device discreetly underneath the seat. It was so tiny that he wouldn't feel it when he sat down, and that allowed her to keep up with him, even if she managed to oversleep or if something else happened to put a wrench into her assignment.

Maria scoffed - this whole _assignment_ was one huge, proverbial wrench.

She supposed it might be the road rage that was getting to her, or something to that effect, but she found that everything about this mission was aggravating. Now, not that she minded staring at Steve Rogers for a lengthy amount of time - not that she would _admit _that to anyone, either - it was just that _Fury _was such a _dick _about trailing him. She was pretty sure that Steve could kick anyone's ass that he came across, and yet her boss had her trailing a proven _superhero. _

Maria guessed that it had something to do with the fact that the other Avengers were in pairs, while Steve had gone it alone. She supposed that was a valid concern, since people were more likely to pick on a guy when he was alone, but still. He's _Steve Rogers_ for crying out loud! _Captain America!_ The man with the impenetrable shield and tight pants!

It was getting dark, and this meant that Steve was going to find a place to stay for the night. He had been lucky enough that he had been near a town before nightfall. Or, at least that was what had happened since Maria started following him.

The bright neon lights of the motel flickered ahead of them. The screen mounted between the handlebars of her bike showed the little blip that was Steve flit into the parking lot. Maria slowed her bike down so she wouldn't be right on his tail before pulling in herself.

She waited a few minutes. Watched as Steve dismounted his bike and made his way to get a room. Luckily this little place had it's vacancy sign lit. Maria wondered if Steve was the luckiest bastard in the universe. She quirked her lips at this thought.

She watched through the window as he retrieved a key and made his way outside to the line of doors across the first and only floor of the motel. He stopped at one labeled 106 in tarnished gold before unlocking it - the key was old fashioned, she noticed idly - and moving inside.

Maria was up from her own bike then, moving to the motel with purpose, looking over her shoulder every now and then, before opening the door. A bell chimed and the clerk looked up expectantly.

"You here for the hottie in room 106?" she asked. Maria noticed that she was one of those old, gossipy ladies. Her hair was in rollers and she had large fake nails that were painted a garish pink. The agent cringed in response.

"No. Just need a room. 107 would be nice." Maria ducked her head and cursed the fact that she blushed rather easily. If there was ever a time to be like Natasha Romanoff, this was it.

"Alrighty, alrighty," the lady said, hooking a key with a long nail and maneuvering it towards Maria. "But I ain't judging sweetheart. He was a looker."

Maria took the key from the woman's hand with no preamble whatsoever. She was flushing to the tips of her ears. She wrinkled her nose and spun on a heel.

And then smacked straight into a rock solid chest.

"Good evening, Agent Hill," Steve greeted cordially.

Well, _shit._

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_**End Chapter One.**_


	2. The Consequences

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own The Avengers._

_Wow! Thanks so much for all the responses! It was really surprising, in an awesome way! I really hope that y'all enjoy this next installment in this fic of mine! Thanks so much for reading!_

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**Eleventh Hour  
****Chapter Two: The Consequences**

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Fully embarrassed and fully tired, Maria watched with a slight twinge of delirious amusement as Steve Rogers attempted to work her cellular phone.

His brows were furrowed together, wrinkling his forehead in an unbearably funny way. His clear eyes were concentrated entirely on the smart phone, fingers pressing against the touch screen with curious intent. He poked and prodded at the electronic device as if it were a creature from another planet. Seriously, this could be a hit on youtube, had she the will to film it. And had she the complete fearlessness of the hell Fury would wreak upon her in response.

"Do you need me to do that?" she asked finally, begrudgingly. This was possibly the most fun she'd had in weeks, believe it or not. Just watching him try to manage something so modern was something that amused her to no end.

"I think I..." he trailed off. "Oh! It's dialing!"

He placed it to his ear, listening intently for the other person to pick up. She couldn't keep the smile off her face as a quizzical look passed over his, shrouding his handsome features in confusion. "Clint?" he asked in shock.

"Oh, give me that," Maria said, jerking the phone from his grasp. She identified herself and explained the situation, apologizing for Steve's clear mixup with dialing. A few more clipped words from Clint and then the whole thing was fixed. She hung up and then looked at Steve with a cutting glance as he reached for the phone again. "No," she scolded.

"Why not?"

"Did you _see _what just happened?" she asked.

"Well, yes, but..."

Maria rolled her eyes a bit, the smile still on her face, as she scrolled down to Fury's number in her contacts. She pressed the 'call' button and held up a finger to Steve, as if shushing him.

Fury's voice sounded over the line, rushed and deep, a tinge of eagerness that was most likely associated with her current stalking-mission. Before he could even ask her what was up, she cut straight to the chase.

"Fury, my cover's been blown."

The sharp retort almost sliced directly through her eardrum. Maria winced as she held the phone away from her ear. She clicked the 'speaker' button and Fury's fury was automatically magnified. Steve winced at the proximity, giving Maria a sympathetic look that she tried not to focus on for too long.

_"What the hell, Maria! You're an agent! Stealth is supposed to be one of your traits! Has Rogers gotten away from you? I doubt he's too happy to find out I've put a babysitter on him. Dammit!"_

"Er, well, sir, I never thought of it that way..." Steve spoke up.

_"Is that Rogers?"_ Fury's voice sounded, a mix of surprise, relief, and anger._ "Where are you two, anyway?"_

"Motel room."

_"Aw, damn, Maria. What have I told you about mixing business with pleasure - "_

"Why the hell does everyone think I'm a slut that has rendezvous at gross motels like this!"

"...I don't think that of you, Agent Hill."

Maria slapped her forehead at Steve's innocent response, though it did make her feel better than she had, especially when thinking of the woman at the front desk and Fury's comments about the whole motel-and-beautiful-man situation. Her cheeks were flushed - something she hoped Steve hadn't noticed - and she quickly relayed the situation to Fury in quick, clipped sentences.

"You put a tracking device on my motorcycle?" Steve gaped at her.

"Necessary evil," she replied swiftly. "What would you have me do next, sir?"

There was a pause over the line. Maria thought briefly that he had hung up on her in his disbelief and anger.

Just when Maria was about to hang up on him, he spoke, _"Stay together. It's safer if you two are together."_

"Safer?" Maria blurted. "He's _Captain America_."

_"We've had this discussion, too many times," _Fury replied, exasperated. _"Stay with him. Help him out. I dunno...do whatever. Just don't get into trouble. Don't get yourselves killed."_

"Trouble's my middle name," Steve pointed out. And..was that sarcasm coating his tone?

_"Damn, so he __**does **__have a sense of humor,"_ Fury responded. Maria could almost picture him shaking his head in amazement.

The conversation went on a while longer, with Maria explaining what exactly went wrong. With Steve's input. Apparently, a few days ago, she had forgotten to leave a fake name when signing into the hotel and he saw it while signing out the next day; he put two and two together when he glimpsed her sneaking into the same restaurant he stopped at for lunch two days ago.

"I'm not necessarily stupid, sir," he said, not unkindly.

Fury scoffed at that. _"I know that."_

Steve rolled his shoulders and then gave a yawn. It was then Maria realized the hour. Ten o'clock. It was too early for Maria to even think about sleeping. She had always been a bit of an insomniac, but it looked as if Steve had already passed his bedtime. She found that fact slightly...endearing.

_"Well, I guess I should let you two go. I heard Steve yawning even over the phone. Keep me updated."_

"Yes, sir."

And, just like that, Fury hung up. Everything was resolved. Everything so different that Maria couldn't believe things had ever been like they were just a few hours ago. Maria mashed the 'end' button on her phone and then quickly stowed it away in one of her pockets. She looked at Steve, keeping her face professional. "So...I suppose I'll see you in the morning? I trust you won't ditch me."

He gave her a tired smile. "No, I wouldn't do that."

"I'll take your word on it."

"A man is only as good as his word," he randomly stated. Probably out of sleep-deprived delirium.

Maria gave him a smile. "Goodnight."

As she headed to the door, she was stopped by a puzzled voice. "Where are you going?"

Turning, she cocked her head to the side, equally as puzzled by the question posed. "To my room."

Steve was sitting on his bed, his hands folded in his lap, looking rather proper. She chalked it down to the timeline he was originally from. He didn't look like he was going to give up any more than he needed to.

"Why?" she prodded, curious.

"I just...thought...since I know, that it didn't make much sense for us to have...separate rooms."

This caused her to outright grin. His sleepy eyes were trained on her, and she wondered if he would even remember this conversation in the morning. Nonetheless, she answered, "There's only one bed here, and I've already paid for my room."

Steve had the awareness enough to look flustered. "Sorry, ma'am."

She ignored the fact he called her _ma'am_, of all things.

"Don't worry about it," she said. "Just get some sleep."

He smiled at her. "Goodnight, Agent Hill."

Maria gave him a nod before opening the door and stepping out - and coming face-to-face with the old woman from the front desk.

"Aw, geez," Maria sighed.

The old woman looked at her with something akin to perversion. Maria couldn't really tell. She just assumed the lady was just as crazy as her attire let on. Bright colors arranged in the shape of various fish assaulted her eyes, and the woman tapped a long pink nail against her shoulder. "I knew you two were bumping uglies." And then she laughed, the sound like the Wicked Witch on drugs. Maria fought the urge to be sick.

"Shut up," she told her, before marching, back ramrod straight, to her room. She unlocked the door and shut it behind her, grateful to get away from that woman. She hoped that Steve had locked his door at least. If she were to get into his room...now, that would be a disaster.

Maria let herself stand there, breathing softly in and out, until she pressed her palms against her eyes. This whole situation was ridiculous. Though she didn't originally like her mission at first, she would feel bad if she just left Steve out of the blue, and she was glad that Fury actually ordered her to stay. Leaving him now felt...criminal.

Flipping on the light, she took in her surroundings. A small bed, made up neatly. A nightstand. A desk with a chair. A lamp. A small television. A door in the corner that led to what she assumed was a bathroom. But she wouldn't have put it past that crazy old woman if the room the door led to was a torture chamber, or a secret passageway to each and every room in the motel. The vague stirrings of some horror movie she had watched long ago crept through her mind, but she ignored it. She was confident she could kick that lady's ass, no problem.

Knowing sleep was far from capturing her, Maria lowered herself onto the bed and turned on the television. She glanced at the small sack she had brought with her, deposited on the floor next to her feet. It held nothing more than the necessary things - change of clothes, toiletries, and other basic items.

She decided on taking a shower that morning, and opted to wander about the room, ending up at the desk. Maria flicked on the lamp and brought out the small notebook she carried with her in which she logged the details of this particular mission.

On the next blank page, she wrote the date, time, and simply - _Cover blown._

As Maria listened to the chattering of the television, she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

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_**End Chapter Two.**_


End file.
